By the Grace of the Gods

Long time no see. This is Roy.

Starting today, I will be posting the revised version of by the grace of the gods at one-month intervals.

"Work… Tabuchi-kun, progress report…"

Ryoma woke up in the depths of a dense forest, surrounded by shadows cast by the thick trees. He appeared as a boy under ten years old, dressed in a rough linen outfit, leaning against the root of a tree as he slept, just as the gods had told him.

He opened his eyes, uttering words unbefitting his current form, and squinting at the dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves, he glanced around, his consciousness still somewhat hazy.

“A forest? It’s not a dream…”

As he breathed in the scents of earth, trees, and wind, he gradually recalled why he was in this place.

“That’s right… this is another world. Hm?”

His eyes caught sight of a leather bag and a notebook-sized book arranged near his waist. Picking up the book and looking at its cover, he saw that it was clearly not written in Japanese but bore the word “letter.” The sender was the three gods who had invited him to this world.

“Gain, Kufo, Lurutia…”

He read the names aloud naturally, recalling the gods he remembered.

(They gave me detailed explanations and knowledge and power to survive before sending me, and now they’re even supplementing it in this letter. Though, this feels more like a manual than a letter...)

Turning the cover, the first page contained three points.

First, this place is called “Gana Forest,” located in the “Reefall Kingdom” within the world of “Sailfall,” and it’s relatively safe, with few strong beasts or magical beasts.

Second, since it’s not absolutely safe, he was instructed to quickly check his new body’s condition and movements, then move to a safe place to live. A small map was kindly included.

Finally, the page ended with the instruction: “Read the continuation after you reach the designated location.”

Thinking of the gods’ thorough kindness, Ryoma smiled faintly and sat up. But then, he felt a strong sense of discomfort in his body.

“Really, a child’s body… Ryoma Takebayashi, 39 years old, single, occupation SE (System Engineer). Keeping only the memories… I feel like some famous detective.”

Although the gods had explained it to him, actually experiencing the physical change amazed Ryoma. He first confirmed that there was no abnormality in his condition or memories. After a while, relieved that everything was fine, he began moving his body gradually.

Starting with simple movements like bending his legs and opening and closing his hands, he moved on to stretching and radio exercises, gradually increasing the intensity. Then, he went through the martial arts forms his father had drilled into him relentlessly before stopping.

His eyes fixed on a slender tree nearby, and in the next moment, Ryoma delivered a sharp kick to its trunk. Then—

“Piii!”

“Chic chic!”

With a light cracking sound echoing through the quiet forest, the tree, still alive, snapped cleanly and fell to the ground, startling birds resting on the surrounding trees. Watching this result, Ryoma summarized his movements.

(This is tricky… my strength is the same or even greater than in my past life. But it doesn’t match my physique. My body feels light and moves too much; the length of my limbs is obviously different. My sense of distance and timing is off. Basic actions like walking and running are fine… I guess I’ll just have to get used to it.)

Having concluded so, Ryoma approached the tree root where he had awakened, checked his current position and the route to his destination on the map marked there, and put the letter back into the bag he picked up. At that moment, he found a knife and strapped it to his waist, then set off toward the place the gods had instructed.

Two hours later—

He had seen several small animals and creatures called “magical beasts,” which do not exist on Earth, but they were all weak—the beasts fled on their own or he ignored them and passed by.